


Secretary

by Dark_and_night



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter (Hopkins Movies), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: One Shot, Other, Secretary - Freeform, Your Boss - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:33:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22996249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_and_night/pseuds/Dark_and_night
Summary: You got a job under the Hannibal Lecter.
Relationships: Hannibal Lecter/Reader, Hannibal Lecter/You
Comments: 7
Kudos: 136





	1. Chapter 1

“And here’s your desk!” Your new co-worker grinned, walking you to a desk in front of Dr. Lecter’s office. Your desk was made out of particle wood, you could tell that pretty much instantly. The desk had a computer sitting on it that looked fairly up-to-date, and the chair was green and had wheels on the bottom of it.

You had heard amazing things about Dr. Lecter, and you had hoped to learn about his field while working under him, but one of the first things that you had heard about him was that he liked the finer things in life. Which was why you were a bit surprised that your desk looked so cheap.

But, that didn’t matter. You were going to be working under the Hannibal Lecter. Everything else didn’t matter.

“Thank you very much!” You couldn’t help but grin, putting your things down on the desk. The computer was turned on to a log-in screen, and you got jittery realizing that you were going to have a work username and password to unlock it. You were completely high off of first-day-of-your-new-life endorphins, and you were living for it.

Your co-worker smiled. “You’re aware that your job is mostly to answer the phone and schedule appointments, to follow Dr. Lecter into meetings and take notes for him, and-while this isn’t in your job description-you’ll probably be asked to do menial things like coffee runs, correct?”

“Yes, I paid close attention during training, and I also watched the movie 9 to 5 to get all prepared.” I joked.

It wasn’t a very funny joke, but she threw her head back and laughed anyway. “Just don’t tie up our boss and you’ll do just fine around here!” She touched your arm, giving you an encouraging smile before adding. “Dr. Lecter should be in shortly. He always manages to come in at eight on the dot.”

“Well, I tend to run early.” You smiled. “So I guess I’ll always be the first to greet him in the mornings.”

Someone chuckled behind you and a masculine voice said, “I like that kind of spirit.”

You turned around to see a man in a well-fitted suit behind you. You couldn’t tell exactly how old he was, but your instincts told you he was older, maybe middle aged, but you could tell that he had taken good care of himself. His sleeves were rolled up to three-quarter length, and his haircut was sensible but stylish. His hair was thick enough to pull off the trendy cut, and had just a touch of grey. He had on a watch that had big initials in the clock face, so you could tell it was one of those name-brand watches. The rumors had been true, he was a very refined gentleman.

“Dr. Lecter, I have her all warmed up for you.” Your co-worker said.

He grinned, his teeth pearly white. “Why thank you. So you’re my new secretary?”

You perked up, stiffly holding out your hand. “Yes sir, it’s nice to meet you!”

He took your hand and gave it a firm shake, something that you forgot was important with first impressions. Your handshake hadn’t been firm at all, but you tried not to worry about a stupid detail like that, especially when you already had the job. No way could you get fired for having a bad handshake. “It’s nice to meet you too.” He said through your inner rambling.

And with that, began your first day working. You had expected your co-worker to be the one who would mentor you, but it was actually Dr. Lecter by your side all day. He was at you shoulder, pointing out what would be helpful to keep on your desktop, printed off a schedule for you showing what the typical day at work usually looks like, and most importantly, he was patient. He would help when something was unfamiliar, and he kept a smile on his face the whole time.

By the end of the day you had already decided that you would like working for him, if only because you wanted to be as well-known as him one day. However, he didn’t seem completely genuine. While he had been helpful, it felt as if he had been observing you like he might observe a patient. Though he kept a smile on his face, it never reached his eyes. For some reason, he scared you. There was no reason for him to scare you, but he did. And what was more terrifying that that, was that the fear excited you.

As you packed up your things, Hannibal brushed past you on his way out of the office. Though you had no way to prove it, you could have sworn that his touch had lingered on you. Just for a moment, but the feeling was there as he moved past you into the nearby elevator.

“Have a fun night.” He smiled, his eyes glinting in a way that made your gut twist.

“I will.” You said quietly, unable to rips your eyes from his until the elevator doors closed.


	2. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your boss get coffee.

Poking your head into Dr. Lecter’s office, you gave him a little wave so he would notice you hovering. “Dr. Lecter, I’m getting coffee on my break, would you like some?”

He smiled at you, looking up from his computer. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I don’t mind.” You stepped farther into his office. “I actually like coffee runs. I feel like a character on TV.”

Dr. Lecter chuckled, shaking his head at you. “You have a very interesting idea about what’s exciting.”

“So I’ve been told.” You put your hands on your hips exaggeratedly. “Last chance sir, coffee or no?”

He stood, grabbing his jacket from off the back of his chair. “Instead of you getting me coffee, why don’t I just go with you?”

“Really, don’t you need to work?” You asked.

“I am Hannibal Lecter.” He said with an air of fake pompousness before he gave me a sly grin as he walked over. “At this point, I only work because I want to.”

You smiled and adjusted your purse, happy the two of you knew each other well enough to start joking around a bit. “Okay, you can join me.”

He chuckled as you headed out together. Once you were out of the building you were in the middle of the city, and in the city there were coffee shops in every which way, all you had to do was pick a direction and walk. 

Dr. Lecter looked at the traffic and shook his head. “I think it’s amazing how we live in a part of the country where if you drive twenty minutes from the city, you end up in the middle of nowhere.”

“An hour on foot.” You added as you walked.

“That’s quite the fun fact.” He teased, slipping on his jacket.

“Well, I’d know, I walk here every day from my…semi-country house.” You said.

Dr. Lecter paused. “Don’t you have a car?”

“Nope.” You shook my head.

He gave you a look of concern before leaning in, as if there was anyone else around who cared what you were talking about. “Are you okay? Financially?” You weren’t sure why you had the gut feeling that he truly didn’t care, but you did. The way he leaned in, the look in his eyes made you feel like a cat standing below a large and intimidating dog.

You had that feeling the entire time you worked for him, but the uneasiness of it came and went. You had tried to chalk it up to a weird crush, but deep down you knew that wasn’t why you always felt just a little threatened by him.

You gave him a fake reassuring smile. “I am, I promise. I like walking.” 

He gave you a look that said he didn’t quite believe you. He could see the fakeness in your expression the same way you could see the fakeness in him. “Oh?”

“And I wouldn’t call this the city. More like a business-slash-shopping district.” You continued as we walked up to the coffee shop.

“Okay, okay, good point.” He opened up the door for you, waiting for you to walk in first. “But putting all of that aside, aren’t you worried about walking home in the dark?”

“No.” You walked inside. “I’m always safe.”

He raised his eyebrows at you as he walked up to the line. It felt like the entire conversation had been mostly him making concerned faces at you. “It’s good to feel secure, but I don’t know about feeling that secure.” He warned, real concern finally showing in his eyes. “Putting all that aside, let’s get this coffee.” 

Relieved to not have to explain the details of your life any further, you ordered your drinks and sat down at a spot near the window, watching the world pass by as the two of you waited for your coffee. 

“Why don’t you tell me about yourself?” He asked, re-opening the discussion about your personal life. 

“Why? Is this a second job interview?” You teased, trying to bypass the conversation altogether.

Dr. Lecter leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Ah, you got me.” He grinned easily. His body language read like a man too much confidence for his own good. Dr. Lecter wore it well, though. You could see why people had trusted him when he was first getting his business off the ground, but you still didn’t buy it. Something in you screamed to not tell him anything about yourself – no matter how much he made you want to spill your guts. “How could you tell that I just wanted to make doubly sure you were a good fit for me?”

“Intuition?” You joked as our drinks were sat down. You took yours, smiling and shaking your head. “Maybe not intuition, I’m pretty bad at trusting my gut.” You lied, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Why is that?” He asked, reaching for his drink, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.

He knew you were lying.

“My gut is always telling me to abort mission.” You replied honestly. Your gut had been telling you to abort mission since the first time you met him. 

He chuckled while taking a sip of his drink. “You youths and your anxiety.”

“Hey!” You play-snapped, trying to lead the conversation back into safe territory.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” He asked over the rim of his mug, his eyes looking as though they could read your mind. “You’re always anxious, aren’t you?”

You bobbed your head slightly in a combination of shaking your head ‘no’ and nodding ‘yes.’ “I wouldn’t know, actually. I’ve never seen anyone who had the authority to diagnose me, but still.”

“Oh? Not you or your entire class of psych students in training?” He asked, raising his eyebrow, calling your bluff.

“I don’t like being called out.” You said before you could stop yourself.

“Aw, poor thing.” Dr. Lecter smiled thinly, his eyes narrowing. “Well, I can tell you everything that is wrong with you if you ask, and I can do it free of charge.”

You looked down at your cup, feeling trapped. He wasn’t letting you escape this conversation; he wouldn’t let you escape without being known in your entirety by him. This conversation wouldn’t end unless he let it end. “I like walking my dog, and watching TV. That’s all about me.”

He looked at you expectantly, wanting you to continue. You continued sipping your drink as if you didn’t understand what he was doing. Silence brings awkwardness, and people will be more likely to continue speaking to fill that silence. But you knew that trick too.

“And?” He finally said.

“And what?” You replied, feigning innocence. 

“I’m sure there’s more to your personality than dogs and television.” He elaborated. 

You paused, looking out the window. You’d often asked yourself how much of your personality was just you trying not to make other people angry, or to make them like you? How much of your true personality had you been allowed to keep over the years as you had tried to survive in this cutthroat world? “I’m honestly not sure that’s true.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, I’m not entirely sure I even have a personality. What is ‘personality’ anyway, you know?” You shrugged as you ended my response, knowing that you had said too much.

Dr. Lecter nodded slowly before taking another drink. “You know more than that.”

“Probably.” You replied, glancing at the clock on the wall just past Hannibal. 

“Well.” He smiled. “I’ll just dig deeper and help you find out some things about yourself, if you truly don’t know yourself that well.”

“You don’t have to, Dr. Lecter.” You said quietly, reaching for a napkin. He saw what you were doing, reaching out to get one for you, causing your hands to brush. Goosebumps rose on your arms and you tried to pull your hand away, but in the second the two of you were touching, he ran his pinky over yours. Almost too subtle to notice, but you noticed.

You pulled your hand back in your lap as Hannibal placed the napkin in front of you.

“Why do you like walks?” He asked. 

You pondered that for a moment, trying to think of a response that sounded right. “They make me feel free, I guess? On a good day, there is a nice breeze and it rustles the leaves on the trees, and everything is so quiet. I mean, don’t you like walks?”

“I can honestly say, I never thought of walking as anything but a pain.” Dr. Lecter said.

“What?” You scoffed. “Why?”

“I couldn’t afford a car until much later in life, so I had to walk everywhere.” He said, before smiling. “But, we are talking about you. Why are you a dog person?”

“Well, I just don’t like cats.” You knew the answer to this one easily, and you knew he could tell if you were lying. “I don’t like animals where I have to guess if they like me or not. With cats, I can’t tell if they like me, if they’re playing, if they want me to stop petting them, it makes me too nervous. I love dogs because they’re easy to understand. They wag their tails and lick your face when they’re happy, and they growl when they’re not.”

Dr. Lecter nodded thoughtfully.

“Why don’t we talk about you instead?” You said before he could think up another question. “It’s not fair that I have to talk about myself and you don’t.”

“Why would you want to learn about me?” He smiled.  
“To make it fair. Spill your guts, Dr. Lecter.” You tried to say it playfully, to bring the conversation back to light joking, leaning back and mimicking his confident pose.

He chuckled, eyeing your mimicking of himself and nodding. Very suddenly, the predatory aura was gone, and he was just a normal man again. The switch almost gave you whiplash. “Okay, well I’m an Aquarius, but I honestly have no idea what that means. I don’t follow horoscopes, but I know what mine is because I have a free app on my phone that tells me my fortune for the day based off my sign.”

“Everything you just said made no sense.” You smiled, feeling your body relax as you once again spoke to the man you worked for, not the man you had grown to fear.

“What can I say? I found the app, it claimed to be able to tell how my day was going to go.” He held out his hands in a ‘what can you do’ pose. “So I looked up my start sign and check the app like the morning newspaper.”

You smiled into your coffee. “You’re a little bit crazy, aren’t you?”

Dr. Lecter smiled, giving you a look you couldn’t recognize. “Maybe a bit.”


End file.
